The London Cable Car is open for tourists visting South London the long, slow and expensive way

THE London Cable Car is go! Transport for London’s gondola lift cable cars are taking people across the River Thames, making the half-mile crossing between Greenwich and the Royal Docks that little starrier. From the 34 cabins you can see the Olympic Park, Canary Wharf, South London, the Thames Barrier, Brixton and my granny’s house. A one-way ticket on the ‘Emirates Air Line’ costs £3.20. Each pod holds up to 10 passengers.

The last flights are at 9pm. If a big show is on at, say the O2, the time might be extended. First flights are 7am. The early flights take five minutes. The afternoon ones take 10.

The big question is: why? Is it public transport or tourist attraction? John Bull notes:

Although Oyster discounts are supported, journeys on the Cable Car won’t contribute to the daily cap and – at least at first glance – won’t be covered by a travelcard itself. TfL’s announcement also seems to suggest that it won’t necessarily be as simple as rolling up and tapping on:

A single fare boarding pass using Oyster pay as you go for the Emirates Air Line will cost £3.20 (child fare £1.60). Passengers with a Travelcard or other Oyster cards (including Freedom Passes) will be able to fly for the same fare but will need to buy a boarding pass from ticket offices or vending machines which are available at both terminals, Emirates Greenwich Peninsula and Emirates Royal Docks.

This is for the tourists. You know, the ones who go to stay in, erm, South London. The cable car’s website lists things to do South of the River Thames, useful info for anyone wishing to take a cable car from Emirates Royal Dock to Emirates Greenwich Peninsular and then take a bus, Tube, train or taxi to a destination. You know who you are. Must-see southern places for vistors who like to go the slow and expensive way from a less obvious starting spot are: Battersea Park’s Children’s Zoo, The London Eye (!?) Tower Bridge and Hampton Court Palace. Highlights of ‘the north’ are – get this: Little Venice, the Notting Hill Carnival, Buckingham Palace and the Royal Albert Hall.

Londoners seeking to take advantage of this mad trip planner are advised to look out of their gondola windows to the Museum of London, which hosts an exhibitions of life in Bedlam, ancient home for the mentally negligible…

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A Transport for London's gondola lift cable car is seen across the River Thames, in London, Thursday, June 28, 2012. The cable car will make the half-mile (one kilometer) crossing between Greenwich and the Royal Docks, allowing visitors to take in the views of Olympic Park, the Canary Wharf financial center and the Thames Barrier. Each of the 34 cars holds 10 people and looks like the gondolas that ferry skiers up the mountains in the Swiss Alps. Travelers can go one way or round-trip, with a one-way ticket costing 3.20 pounds (5 US dollars). (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)